Wheel bugs and other assassins

Wheel bugs are just one of the many insects in the assassin bug family known to have the ability to sting or, in better terms, stick its prey with a sharp proboscis that is normally folded back under its head.

This proboscis, or poker if you will, is used to penetrate its victim in order to inject enzymes that paralyze and allow the dissolving of the insides of the victim needed before fluids can be drawn out for nourishment. The poke or sting of this bug can also be responsible for serious infections.

Wheel bugs are easily identified by a cogged wheel type shape located on the dorsal crest, the area just behind the head, and can grow up to one-and-a-half inches in length. The wheel bug nymphs are reddish but as they mature to adulthood turn gray in color.

Wheel bugs are beneficial insects because they are predators of many garden pests. It is common to see them in plants or on leaves feeding but because of their camouflaged markings and color, many times they are unnoticed until a human or pet unwittingly threatens the bug or handles it.

This causes a defense reaction by the bug and results in a painful encounter that is very much like a scorpion sting as measured on some scales measuring pain for humans. The piercing of the human skin along with the injection of the liquifying enzyme is quite serious and, in some cases, takes months to heal.

Wheel bugs are beneficial to humans until one finds him or herself on the wrong end of the equation. The key to remember is that many insects have a purpose that can benefit mankind if they are left to do the job they were intended to do.

Since wheel bugs are not shy in doing their job in consuming garden pests, it is our responsibility to keep an eye out and be observant to keep away from all stinging insect pests and save ourselves from painful stings or bites.